Section 2:1-24 Joshua sent men to explore Jericho secretly
Joshua sent two men to look at Jericho, a town in the land of Canaan. A woman of Jericho called Rahab hid the two men so that the king’s soldiers could not find them. She did this because she believed that Yahweh would help the Israelites conquer their land. The men promised Rahab that if she did not betray them, they would rescue her and her family when the Israelites conquered the town. Rahab helped the men escape from Jericho and they hid in the hills for three days. When the soldiers of Jericho stopped looking for them, they returned to Joshua.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The spies went to Jericho
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The spies and Rahab
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Rahab helped the spies
Paragraph: 2:1-7
Joshua sent two spies to Jericho and they entered the house of Rahab. The king of Jericho sent soldiers to arrest them, but Rahab protected the two men. She hid the spies and told the soldiers that they had already left.
2:1a
Then: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the next event in the narrative. This is the start of a new section, and some English versions start this section with the word “then.” Translate this in a way that is natural to introduce a new section in your language.
Joshua son of Nun: You should translate this the same way you did in 1:1b.
secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying: In some languages, a literal translation would suggest that Joshua spoke to the two men after he sent them away. If this is true in your language, you need to make it clear that Joshua gave the orders to the men before they left.
Here is another way to translate this sentence:
Joshua sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies. Before he sent them, he said
secretly: The term secretly means that the two men explored the land secretly. They did not want the Canaanites to know where they came from or what they were doing.
two spies: These two men were Israelites.
spies: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as spies comes from a verb that means “go as an explorer” or “go as a spy.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
to explore ⌊secretly⌋
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to learn about the land of Canaan
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to see ⌊where the land is weak⌋
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Then Joshua, the son of Nun, chose two men from the camp at Shittim to go in secret and explore the land. Before he sent them, he said,
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The Israelites were staying at Shittim Campground. Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from there to go secretly and learn about the land. He told them,
from Shittim: Shittim was the place where the Israelites set up their tents on the east side of the Jordan River. This place is referred to in Numbers 25:1. It was northeast of the Dead Sea, opposite Jericho.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
while the Israelites were camping at Shittim
The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Shittim means “acacia.” It is possible that there were several acacia trees in this area. Some English versions use the name “Acacia” instead of the name Shittim. If you are familiar with acacia trees, you may choose to use that term instead of Shittim.
Shittim was the name of this area, but it was not a town or a village. If you must identify it you could call it “Shittim campground” or “Shittim region.”
Here are some other ways to translate this Hebrew word:
Acacia Grove (New Living Translation (2004))
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Shittim ⌊campground/region⌋
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Acacia ⌊campground/region⌋
2:1b
Go, inspect the land: The clause Go, inspect the land indicates that the men must go to the land of Canaan and gather information about how to conquer it.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Go through the land and find out about it
especially Jericho: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as especially Jericho is more literally “and Jericho.” Jericho was a town in Canaan that was across the river from the Israelite camp. It was the most important town in that region. There were many towns in Canaan. Joshua told the men to find out especially about this town because they would attack it first.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Go through the land and find out about it, especially the town of Jericho.
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Go and look around the land, particularly Jericho.
2:1c
Then: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the next event in time.
Here is another way to translate this conjunction:
and
Translate this conjunction in a way that is natural to introduce the next event in the narrative.
they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab: Rahab’s house was in Jericho. It may be clearer to make explicit that they arrived in Jericho.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
They went ⌊to Jericho⌋ and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab
a prostitute named Rahab: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as prostitute refers to someone who has sex with other people for money.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
a prostitute. Her name was Rahab.
and stayed there: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stayed there means “to lie down (to sleep).” The men intended to spend the night there, but they had to flee, and they left during the night.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
they ⌊intended⌋ to stay there that night
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Then the men went to the town of Jericho. They entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab. They planned to spend the night there.
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So the men arrived at Jericho, and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab
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